This invention relates to a display device or easel and more particularly to such a device that is wall mountable with first and second oppositely facing faces that can be deployed at any of a plurality of angles, including an angle at which the first face faces away from the wall and the second face faces toward the wall and another angle at which the second face faces away from the wall and the first face faces toward the wall.
The following U.S. Patents may be of interest to the reader as background prior art, but none seems to be germane to the present invention:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. Date Inventor ______________________________________ 2,339,447 January 18, 1944 Zwickel 2,913,123 November 17, 1959 Lundberg 3,207,319 September 21,1965 Best 3,603,556 September 7, 1971 Frantz 4,456,286 June 26, 1984 Jamar 4,693,443 September 15, 1987 Drain ______________________________________
Zwickel U.S. Pat. No. 2,339,447 relates to filing equipment with multiple pivotable closely spaced suspension arms, and is concerned primarily with overcoming difficulties encountered in locating, grasping and withdrawing a desired suspension arm from the remainder of the equipment. A manually actuated means automatically effects selective projection of the desired suspension arm.
Lundberg U.S. Pat. No. 2,913,123 presents a quite complex hanger for drawings.
Best U.S. Pat. No. 3,207,319 discloses a display rack for sheet type articles, particularly rugs.
Frantz U.S. Pat. No. 3,603,556 teaches a pivoted member assembly and has as its primary object the provision of a device in which the pivoted member is held by friction in a selected position despite vibrations to which its mounting is exposed.
Jamar U.S. Pat. No. 4,456,286 provides a presentation board or easel that is used to hold pads of paper, posters, cards and the like.
Drain U.S. Pat. No. 4,693,443 discloses an apparatus for removably retaining sheet material. A holder frictionally secures the sheet material intermediate a back plate and a plurality of rollers.
Presently, easels are designed as free standing tripods and four-legged stands upon which large pads are hung, for presentation purposes. Pages are flipped over the top in order to expose the underpages. In some models, the easel can be used as a writing board when the pads are not in place. Generally the easel folds up for transporting or storage when not in use. When portability is not desired, fixed wall mounted writing surfaces are available. While these conserve floor space they do not accommodate easel pads since the pages cannot be flipped over the top. The more elaborate wall mounted models are constructed with cover doors which close, to conceal the writing surface when not in use. The instant wall mounted easel is a unit which attaches to the wall vertically. An arm is connected to the vertical stabilizer that pivots 180 degrees. The arm has pins or clips attached that enables the easel pad to be mounted on either side of the arm. There are (5) locking positions to facilitate multiple angle viewing positions. When positioned against the wall or in one of the locked angle positions, the charts or writing surface can be written upon. When positioned against the wall the arm is temporarily moved away from the wall to flip the pages. If confidentiality of the viewing or writing surface is desired the arm is rotated to place that surface to abut the wall. The arm is removable for transporting to other work areas.
Each face of the unit is a replica of the other presenting two writing surfaces and flip charts mounting capability doubling its functionality over existing presentation devices.
Generally, easels are clumsy and space consuming. As such they are cost prohibitive for multiple offices and single units are often shared. The wall mounted easel can cost effectively be manufactured and distributed. Several models would be available with materials of construction ranging from low cost fabricated metal or plastic frames to fine woods and the like. Prior art devices are subject to a variety disadvantages that dilute their effectiveness. Floor easels are bulky and space consuming. Wall presentation boards are not portable, do not accept easel pads because pages cannot be flipped over the top, and they have only one viewing plane and writing surface which are difficult to conceal. Wall presentation cabinets offer concealment but usually have only one writing surface, one viewing plane, do not accept flip charts, are not portable and are costly.
Important objects of the invention are to provide a display device having all of the foregoing advantages and none of the prior art disadvantages. The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.